When Mary Beth Begley first began playing tee-ball, she couldn’t contain how excited she was.

She loved every aspect of the game from the very get-go, and from then on, she took full advantage of every chance she had to play softball.

“I never stopped wanting to play,” Begley said. “I loved it that much. I just liked being part of a team, and I really just love baseball in general, so being able to play softball is one of my favorite things.”

As the Washington County Commanderettes (19-12) walked off the field, most — if not all — hanging their head in defeat, Commanderette fans rose in unison to give the players a standing ovation that rivaled the one received by the winning team. Even though WC’s season had ended in an 8-0 loss to Central Hardin in the 5th Region Tournament championship game, the Commanderettes had earned the fans’ praise by advancing further than any WC fast-pitch softball team had ever gone.

Stephen Thompson first started playing baseball around the age of 3 or 4, and it was something he had fun doing from the very beginning. From the action on the field to the camaraderie in the dugout, Thompson enjoyed every aspect of this newfound sport.

The Washington County Commanders (19-17, 9-1) saw their season come to a close Monday with a 4-3 loss to the Elizabethtown Panthers (26-12) in the opening round of the 5th Region Tournament. The loss came on the heels of an 8-7 win against the Bethlehem Eagles (17-18, 6-4) last week in the 19th District championship game, which clinched the Commanders’ first back-to-back district titles since the 2001-2002 seasons.

It was a week of firsts for the Washington County Commanderette fast-pitch softball team.

Nearly a week after WC clinched its first-ever district championship with a 3-0 win over Bethlehem, the Commanderettes defeated North Hardin by a score of 11-3 to earn its first-ever victory in the 5th Region Tournament.